England collapse in Caribbean raises ghosts of Australia past

The ghosts of Australia in the recent past came back to haunt England in the Caribbean on Saturday in a batting collapse that all but ensured West Indies of a stunning series victory.

Though not the first time of late that England have been found wanting, former players Steve Harmison and David Gower sounded almost shocked in the commentary box.

"I didn't see that (coming) at all," Harmison said after England limped to 103 for eight in their second innings at stumps on day three in Grenada for an overall lead of 10 runs.

"The character that has been shown this series, I thought England had turned a little bit of a corner but that was Australia all over again."

He was referring to the 4-0 Ashes drubbing over the southern summer although there were extenuating circumstances for that series result, not least a world class Australian bowling attack led by Pat Cummins.

There was also the added stress of a stifling COVID-19 bubble that must have taken a psychological toll as the weeks went on.

Things have been more relaxed in the Caribbean, on and off the field, where England were the better team in the first two drawn tests without being able to convert either into victory.

But the England batting went missing when it most mattered, brought to its knees by medium pacer Kyle Mayers, who snapped up 5-9 on Saturday.

"Pressure, that's what the whole thing is," said Harmison.

"England have really struggled with pressure in the red ball game in the recent past, tried to reset and unfortunately not one of the players could withstand the pressure of what this man (Joshua Da Silva) has done during the game."

He was referring to the West Indies wicketkeeper, whose maiden test century helped his team to a 93-run first-innings lead that put